Noel Ashman Denies Plan to Open Bar in The Chelsea Hotel Updated February 15, 2010 5:43pm

Noel Ashman, seen here with former Plumm investor Chris Noth, said he has no plans to open a bar in The Chelsea Hotel. (Flickr user/Rainbow Action Network)

By Nina Mandell

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Club guru Noel Ashman denied he was opening a bar in The Chelsea Hotel in a phone interview Monday, despite previous reports to the contrary on the Hotel Chelsea Blog. 

Ashman, whose last project Plumm closed in 2009, said he had been contacted about possibly opening a bar or restaurant by the owner of the hotel, but said the conversation hadn’t gone any further than that.

“It’s way way way in the preliminary stages,” he said. “It might not even be a bar, it might be a restaurant.”

Ashman also said he was one of “a few” people that the Chelsea Hotel owners had spoken to.

“This would take eight months to get a liquor license alone,” Ashman said.

His last nightclub, Plumm, was shuttered in April of 2009 after Ashman and his investors fell behind $113,727 in rent.

He has been planning a return to the nightclub scene ever since, and while he denied he was opening anything in the Chelsea Hotel, he did tell DNAinfo to check back in two weeks for a big announcement.